There is much talk in Georgia about how the controversial new immigration law HB 87 will affect the state’s economy. Some people fear our tourism industry will suffer like it did in Arizona. Agribusiness is already facing significant problems, with many of the migrant workers reliant on harvesting already shunning the state altogether. Since the restaurant industry also relies heavily on immigrant workers, I wondered how the new law and the perception of that law would affect the Georgia restaurant industry.
I contacted a number of people in the industry to find out what impact they thought they would have. Not surprisingly, people didn’t like to talk. Chefs and restaurateurs were afraid of drawing too much attention to themselves and their chefs. I contacted representatives of the major restaurant groups in the city and received no response. Others were willing to speak, but not on record. Therefore, many of the following quotes are anonymous.
“Everyone is afraid. We don’t want to leave our families here. Everyone talks about it. We don’t know what the law means, we’re just scared. Everyone in the kitchens here, they’re all Mexican. What’s going to happen?” What if we all have to go? I don’t know it.”
— “Frank,” a Mexican chef who works at a restaurant in Atlanta
“These guys have nowhere to go. We have a chef who is simply the best, he works so hard. He pays his taxes. I sent him to the Latin American Association for advice on how to get papers and they told him to go to the immigration office. Do you think he will go there? To the very people who want to deport him?”
— “Jennie”, Atlanta restaurant owner
“In Georgia there are around 15,000 restaurants with 385,000 employees. The national average for restaurant employee turnover is 107 percent. So people will use the E-Verify system, the federal government’s online system that the new law requires employers to use to verify the legal status of employees basically every week. It brings with it another human and legal obligation for restaurants. Instead of ensuring food safety and food quality and spending time with customers, restaurant owners will spend time doing administrative tasks that may or may not work. The E -Verify system cannot be used to pre-screen employees. Business owners must first hire the employee before they can enter their name into E-Verify. If E-Verify finds that the name is “mismatched”, it may take a while. It takes a few weeks to clarify the employee’s legal status, during which time the employer must keep the individual employed.
— Karen BremerExecutive Director of the Georgia Restaurant Association
“E-Verify has been proven to have millions of errors that disproportionately flag foreign-born US citizens. Due to database errors, foreign-born workers (including those who have become US citizens) are 20 times more likely to be legally employed than native-born US citizens.” Citizens are incorrectly classified as ineligible to work. This causes delays in hiring and can lead to selective hiring practices where employers avoid any foreign-looking applicant just to minimize the potential cost and work disruption.”
— Helen Kim HoExecutive Director of the Asian American Legal Advocacy Center of Georgia
“I recently placed an ad for a chef and received about 50 applications. I weeded out any applications that looked like they were Mexican because we knew this law was going to go into effect and we didn’t want to deal with it. I don’t do that.” I don’t know if these people are legal or not, but I just didn’t want to even have to think about it.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen to the industry.” People like Hugh Acheson, who are at such a high level that people want to work for him for free, they’re going to be fine. But the rest of us, working-class cooks? I don’t know how our places are supposed to survive.
— “Kevin”, Atlanta boss
“The simple fact is, it’s not like a bunch of people come here kicking in the door to wash dishes. These people don’t fill the jobs that traditional ‘Americans’ want to fill. See if… They come to work in America and had a choice to go somewhere else that doesn’t have draconian laws. I think you probably would. Do I think there will be a labor shortage now? I’m not. I’m so sure.
“I’m really, really upset by the fact that people are saying that as entrepreneurs, we’re paying people under or inferior wages to cheat to buy something.” That’s my biggest problem. My highest paid employee happens to be Mexican. We don’t pay anyone minimum wage in our kitchen. In my company there is no one who earns the minimum wage, not even the dishwashers.”
— “Dave”, Chef and business owner from Atlanta
“There is no doubt that these people are lowering wages in this industry. I know Mexicans who started paying minimum wage three years ago and they’re still making minimum wage. If you don’t think this will lower wages for the industry The rest of us, you’re crazy.
— “Chris”, a line chef from Atlanta
“When I made my opinion public, I found it very ironic, almost humorous, how many people responded by feeling, ‘We had no idea you were employing illegal immigrants. We will never set foot in your company again.’ There really is a ridiculous sense of denial that resonates with some people; they just can’t see that this situation is going to affect them. I think it’s pretty obvious that unless we treat this as a black and white problem, there’s not going to be a solution, even a practical one, anyway. We as a society made the situation possible and obviously benefited from it as it evolved. Now we will take a nuclear bomb approach to solve the problem? I think in the years to come, Career Day will broaden its horizons to include like dishwashers, pre-cooks and support staff?”
— Ron EyesterAtlanta chef and CL columnist
Additional reporting by Katie Valentine.
